Construction in upholstered article such as a seat



A. H. DEWEES May 12, 1953 CONSTRUCTION IN UPI-IOLSTERED ARTICLE SUCH AS A SEAT s SheerJs-Sheet 1 Filed April 17, 1950 ENTOR. A/exanc/er H Dewees M W;W

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May 12, 1953 A. H. DEWEES 2,638,154

CONSTRUCTION IN UPI-IOLSTERED ARTICLE SUCH AS A SEAT Filed April 17, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. A/excmoer H. Dewees M W W A 1 tom eqs.

Patented May 12, 1953 UNITED??? PATENT; a OFFICE...

CONSTRUC'EIDN" IN UPHOIJSTERED' AF-tTICLE SUCH AS SEAT AlexanderH. Dewees, lletroi-tglMiehi Application iiprili'lfil 950, SniatNoflSfifiiE 2 C1iiimS'I (C1. 155-181) This invention'relates to' seats'; chairs, dav'en-t ports,i-'couches and the "like; of the type "having a spring under structure"coveredwithiipholstery usually -in the form of some'padding and an ex terior trim material. 1

The invention is applicable -to the seat'struci ture 'of autcmotivevehicl's and Willbe' disclosed specifically with reference thereto; although the invention is, as above mentioned, applicable to any sort of furniture with "an inner spring struc ture including mattresses Withsprineri; "-Wiienreference ismade to a seat structure of an automobile the term inclucies both the portion" of the seat 'upon which the passengers' sit, and as r Well asthe portion of the seat whichw 'listitutes the back.

In such upholstered devices, it is necessary; in order toprovide-the best constructiomto have a platformor padding support' between the spring structure and thepaclding whichc'oversthesame. 9

Otherwise, thespring structure-in 'timeiembecis" itself into the soft padding. "This platform or paciQh'owever,"mustbe of a seems nature "elseit interferes w th the yieldingfunctionsof the un-- structure. Variouspads' or plat form' constructions have "been" -heretoio e em deriving S131.

ployecl and one example where a "length of Wire of flexing or yieldingcharacteristics, somewhat in 1 ample, into serpentine formraniinterlacefd with or attached to asheet of material SlllGh2l-S bur lap." This isa rather 'costlything and inasmuch as the seats of automobiles are of diiierent shapes ancl= are not uhiformly'rectangular or square; the

platform he used witha 'given 'seat"musthe more or less tailored to the "shape of thatrseazt:

For example, some seats in automotive'vehi'cles extend"completelyacross"the vehicle?" other seats of the foldablevarietyarerliviiied inthe'middle,

and so on: Moreover, theplatforinmust beheldf in position "against shift so as not to expose-the spring structure to theipaddingm' An object of the 'present"inventiomis' to "pro vide "an improved"platform-"member for *usabe tweenithe spring structureand "the paddiiigiof an upholstered article. The ""platform 10f the present invention'zis one whichneedmotbe" tailored to particular 'seat ide'signs"butficanitbe made of long lengths and cut to sizeii The platform structure further resides in'tensile' elements of a flexible nature which give" the platformte'ri sile strength and the tensile elements'fare held so thatJa plurality 'of .lengths thereofmay he maintained spaced"from";each"otherand' held? against" longitudinal displacement" relative to eaeh otherw The platform of the pi'esent' in In some 3 instancesg the platform may embody" lengths rof tensile elements associated. with a body sheet adhereci tliereto so that "each length or the tensile if materialiis held. thereby against longitudinal venti'on may be stitched to the padding.

The invention is clisclosedin the accompanying drawings: Fig! 1 is acut away view withsome parts in section showing a seatstructure of the type used in" automotive vehicles.

Figi2 is a view'illustrating the padding and aplatform stitched thereto;

FigfiB is an enlarged cross se'ctionalvie'w illus trating the yarn embodied between. plastic sheets i F1 gk' i is a'viewsimilar to Fig.3 showing another form.

Figi '5 is a schematic View illustrating how'theplatformmaybe-usedwith a seat having an irregular'montour;

Fig. 16 is aview illustrating the platform of the, present invention WithTOOlQS in the 'yarn for tie-"down purposes.

Figf'l is avi'ew partly in section and with parts cut away illustrating a structure Where the plat formfis tied down:

Figfe is a View withparts cut away and parts I in. section illustrating astructure, such as a mattype having zig-zag springs and the structure shown is'one suitable for a seat in an'automotive Thereis abase frame 5, an upper frame 2, connected-together -by-spring elements at the rear edge and by spring elements it the ion vehicle;

Ward' edges" The spring elementsi! each-have helicalloop 5 tvhichedcls to the flexibility; tendingmcross the frame 2 are a plurality of zig-zag spring elementsli which yielliahly sup port'the weighton the seat.

of elements sand Eimayall comprise one single length of suitable springwire.

Theupholstery for this basic spring structure" may 'inelu'cleapiece "of "of matei'i such .as burlap H3 disposecliin contact with the spring structure and overlying the burlap is the Indeed; each group platform of the present invention which is erally illustrated at I2. Overlying the platform is the soft padding which may be of cotton in the nature of a loose cotton felt as shown at I3. AS shown, there is a layer of sponge rubber l4 placed over the padding l3 and finally is the exterior trim material usually a material such as broadcloth, velour, mohair, whipcord, leather or the like.

The platform, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, comprises a plurality of lengths or runs of tensile material. These lengths are shown at it and may be of what is known as plastic yarn having some elastic characteristics and yet of strong strength. This yarn may be any one of a number of copolymers of vinylidene chloride and vinyl chloride. A plastic product now on the market known as Saran is a good example; nylon is another example.

As shown in Fig. 1 the tensile elements are parallel to each other and are associated with each other by a sheet of material. The tensile elements and the sheet may be considered as being of plastic and the tensile elements and sheet may be arranged together in diiferent ways. As shown in Fig. 3, there are two sheets 2! and 22 disposed in face to face relationship with the runs of the yarn therebetween. The yarn, of course, causes the sheets of material to be bulged out at the location of the runs of yarn, and as indicated in Fig. 3, each sheet is partially formed about the yarn thus providing a rib-like structure 23 indicated by the lines of Fig. 1. The sheet may likewise be any one of a number of co-polymers of vinylidene chloride and vinyl chloride or poly ethylene. The product known as Saran is highly satisfactory. The body sheets, however, may be a woven plastic.

In Fig. 4 one sheet is used as shown at 25 with a tape or ribbon 26 for each tensile element. In Fig. 4, the tape is fashioned about the tensile elements thus providing a bulge or rib formation while the sheet 25 remains substantially fiat. Of course, in the form shown in Fig. 3, one sheet could be fiat and the other sheet fashioned about 1 the tensile elements.

In each case, however, the two sheets, or the single sheet and the tapes, are permanentl adhered together with a suitable cement and are likewise adhered to the tensile elements. plastic yarn may be a monofilament that is, a body comprised of one integral piece or the yarn may be a multi-filament, that is, a length of material constituted by a plurality of smaller lengths woven or twisted together.

At the present time it is believed that the use of the plastic yarn and the plastic sheets are preferred but, in any event, the tensile elements are strongly adhered to the sheet to prevent longitudinal shift thereof.

This structure provides a flexible platform of a yielding nature which will not interfere with the spring action of the underlying spring structure and yet of great tensile strength particularly in the direction lengthwise of the yarn or other tensile element, the strength being provided largely by the tensile elements although the sheets contribute to the tensile strength.

Platform structure of this type may be made in endless lengths and formed and shipped in coils if desired. As a result, lengths may be cut from the coil forapplication to a seat structure. This is demonstrated in Fig. 5 which shows the outline of a seat structure in plan view by the dotted lines 30 where it will be noted that the The seat has a projecting portion 3i at each side. Such a shape may be provided in order to accommodate for an arm rest at the more narrow portions of the seat. In applying the platform to a seat structure, a suitable size of platform material maybe taken and stitched directly to the padding 3. The platform may be stitched to the padding by stitches running across the ends of the padding shown at 32 and by stitches running lengthwise along the side edges as shown at 33. If desired the underlying burlap piece l0 may also be stitched to the padding and platform.

With such a structure, the platform is thus held in position. The several runs of tensile material cannot slip lengthwise or be displaced lengthwise relative to the sheets because the same are cemented thereto. Accordingly, since the entire platform sheet is stitched to the paddin material it cannot become displaced and yet each individual length of yarn or other tensile element performs its function in tension as a weight or load is placed upon the upholstered cushion structure. The platform body yields in any di rection, the same being capable of stretching both lengthwise and. crosswise thus not interfering with the function of the springs, while at the same time it has adequate body and rigidity to keep the springs B and other metal portions of the structure from embedding into or cutting into the soft cushion material.

Ther may be case where, due to the nature of the structure in question, or the desires of the manufacturer or user, that a tie-down is necessary as shown in Fig. '7. Here the spring structure is shown as embodying a lower frame member 35 and an upper frame member 36 with intermediate yieldabl members 3'! and crosswise extending spring elements 38. The platform [2 may be formed as shown in Fig. 3 or 4. In this case, the tensile elements may be fashioned into serpentine coil form with loop-like extensions lt (Fig. 6). When this platform is placed over an underlying spring construction, as shown in 7,. the several loops may be tied down by tying devices conventionally called hog rings 4|. Such a ring is a split metal ring which is passed through a loop and through an opening in the frame 35 and closed by a suitable tool. The mattress structure, shown in Fig. 8, has coiled spring The outside covering is illustrated at E2, the padding at 53, and the platform of the present invention generally illustrated at l2. In this form, both faces of the mattress structure may be equipped with the platform of the present invention, as indicated and the platforms may be formed with loops 46 and the loops may be brought into proximity to each other and secured by the so-called hog rings 31 as described. As shown in both Fig. 7 and in Fig. 8, a'sheet of material such as burlap or other rough or strong materia1 such as cotton or the like, may be disposed between the spring structure and the platform structure, the burlap carrying the same reference character 1 ll as is given to it in Fig. l.

A. modified form of platform is shown in Fig. 10. This is of the mesh type and comprises yarn of plastic or other tensile elements, as above mentioned, fashioned into the form of a mesh having,

for example, tensile elements 50 and 5i arranged in mesh form. The mesh may be woven in any suitable manner or the individual lengths of material, especially where the same are of plastic, may be fused or cemented together at the locations of intersection as illustrated at 52. Such a platform may be stitched to the padding in a manner similar to that shown in Fig. 2, the padding being shown in Fig. 11 at 54 with mesh stitched thereto along the edges of the padding as shown at 55 and 56. The stitches may not directly engage each individual run of the material of the mesh but since the tensile elements are united a sufficient hold is obtained to prevent the pad, as a whole, from shifting.

The mesh construction may also be employed with one or more body sheets as shown in Fig. 12. Here the mesh construction of Fig. 10 is disposed between two body sheets 51 and 58. This platform preferably has the various elements adhered to each other as by cementing the sheet to the runs of tensile material and by cementing the interfaces of the two sheets together. Of course, the mesh construction, as shown in Fig. 10, may be used with a single body sheet applied to one side thereof.

I claim:

1. An upholstered article, such as a seat, a mattress, or the like comprising, an underlying spring structure and an overlying padding, a platform disposed between the spring structure and the padding to protect the padding including, two body sheets, each composed of at least one sheet of elastic plastic material, and a plurality of fiexible plastic filaments having elastic characteristics disposed between the body sheets, said filaments being spaced from each other, the facing surfaces of the sheets and the filaments therebetween being adhered together to maintain the spacing of the filaments and to hold the fila- 6 merits against lengthwise displacement relative to the sheets, the elasticity of the body sheets and of the filaments accommodating flexing action of the underlying spring structure.

2. An upholstered article such as a seat, a mattress, or the like comprising, an underlying spring structure and an overlying padding, a platform disposed between the spring structure and the padding to protect the padding including, a sheet body comprised of elastic sheet plastic material and a plurality of flexible plastic filaments having elastic characteristics extending along. the sheet body in spaced relationship, the

' said sheet body and the filaments being united to maintain the spacing of the filaments and to hold the filaments against lengthwise displacement relative to the sheet body, the elasticity of the sheet body and of the filaments accommodating flexing action of the underlying spring structure.

ALEXANDER H. DEWEES.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

